Wash Away
by surrexi
Summary: After being manipulated into kissing Sawyer, Kate wants to get the taste out of her mouth.  JackKate, 1.08 tag


**_Wash Away_**  
Jack/Kate 1.08 Tag PG  
_Summary:_ After being manipulated into kissing Sawyer, Kate wants to get the taste out of her mouth.  
_Complete:_ Yes

* * *

Kate stormed out of the woods where Sawyer was restrained, trying to resist the juvenile urge to spit the taste of his lies out of her mouth.

She made it a personal policy not to do things by half measures, and part of her had been concerned that if she didn't give him enough of a thrill, he would have still refused to provide answers. She'd thought of high school math through the whole thing, and switched to reciting the Declaration of Independence in her head when it was over to keep the disgust from showing on her face.

When he'd revealed that he'd never had the inhalers, it was all Kate could do not to strangle him with her bare hands. Jack had been right earlier, it _would _feel good to kill Sawyer. She settled for a good punch instead, and now found herself racing away from him wishing she hadn't been stupid enough to kiss him in the first place.

As she neared the tree line, she could make out Jack's tense form waiting for her, Sayid pacing nearby. _Jack_, she thought. Jack, who had told her she didn't have to go in there if she didn't want to; that he'd go with her if she wanted him. Jack, who despite his better judgment didn't care about her shady past. Jack, who for a week now had been her salvation and her anchor.

He turned before she made a sound to get his attention, his entire being focused on her slight frame. Their eyes met, and Kate could have sworn she could see electricity arcing between them. She quickened her pace, strode straight past Sayid and his inquisitive face, and stood toe to toe with a surprised-looking Jack.

"Kiss me, Jack."

Jack's eyebrows rose, but below them his eyes heated, sharpened. "Kate?"

"I want you to kiss me," she said in response. Jack blinked. Somewhere in the background, Sayid coughed. Neither Kate nor Jack heard him.

"What about the inhalers?"

"Damn it, Jack, just kiss me!" she replied, and took matters into her own hands. She reached up and took his face in her hands and pulled his mouth down to hers.

The heat between them was instantaneous, his response to her mouth on his as irresistible as the changing tides. Jack's arms slid around Kate's waist and he pulled her flush against him. She gasped into his mouth at the contact and he took advantage of it and deepened the kiss. Her hands slid down to his chest, then slid slowly back upward to cling to his shoulders.

Jack, she decided, tasted much better than Sawyer. The feel of his lips against hers, the taste of his tongue in her mouth washed away the vestiges of her barter with Sawyer. She felt cleansed, redeemed in some intangible way.

Sayid coughed again, louder and closer, and tapped them both on the shoulders.

The kiss ended, but they stood there, foreheads touching and breathing in each other's breath for endless seconds. Sayid faded into the background again for both of them.

"Kate," Jack managed, his voice deeper than normal.

Kate licked her lips unconsciously and took a deep breath. She leaned back infinitesimally to look Jack in the eyes. "I needed that. I needed you."

"Kate," he said again, and would have kissed her again had Sayid not spoken up.

"I can see that the two of you have some…talking to do," he said, his tone a combination of amusement and frustration. "But there is a sick girl out there who would love to know where Sawyer hid her inhalers."

Kate dropped her hands from Jack's body and immediately felt bereft. He gazed at her intensely, and then as if he could tell what she was feeling, took her hand.

"Kate? Where are the inhalers?" His voice was wary, but his grip on her hand was gentle yet firm, and it gave her strength.

She sighed, knowing the explosion to come. "He doesn't have them."

Sayid's jaw clenched and released. "He's lying," he said flatly, then turned and ran towards the clearing where Sawyer was tied up.

Kate and Jack launched themselves after him as one, still holding hands as they raced through the trees.


End file.
